It's Magic
by rosemarried
Summary: Ariana Dumbledore hates magic. In fact, she has a plan to become a Muggle once in for all and never have to worry about it again.


**Well, I had written this for a competition, but I can't seem to find the competition it was written for, so I can't tell you which one it was or who posted it. But the details were to pick a witch or wizard and write about them wishing they weren't magic or a Muggle who wished they were. I picked Ariana Dumbledore. Anywho, enjoy, review, all that good stuff.**

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Ariana hated magic.

Really. She couldn't stand magic. She couldn't stand the fact that she could do magic or that she might have gone to a school where they teach magic or that her father was in jail because of magic. She hated that she was born to a magical family. Magic was the worst thing in the world to her.

Ariana sometimes thought about what being a Muggle would be like. If she was a Muggle, she wouldn't have to stay locked up in her room all the time. If she was a Muggle, her mother wouldn't be scared of her. If she was a Muggle, maybe her brother would care about her.

Ariana spent most of her time dreaming. What else did she have to do? She wasn't allowed many things because her mother thought she could hurt someone or even herself if she got angry. She had a mattress that was secured to the floor with a permanent sticking charm, a tattered doll that was missing an eye she slept with ever since she was small, and a dresser, nailed to the wall, where her clothing was kept. She didn't have many clothes though. Two shirts, two skirts, and two pairs of pajama's along with her winter coat were all she owned. Her room was all white, except for the pictures she had painted when her mother let her have paint. She painted her family and herself and her doll and flowers and the view from her window. It was all she had ever known, so of course she didn't have anything else to paint.

But now even that had been taken from her because of the time when she had gotten angry and made paint fly around the house, spilling over everything and everyone. Her magic had stolen it from her. She hated magic.

Ariana wanted to become a Muggle. Being a Muggle would be so great! No more worrying about stupid magic or the Ministry wanting to lock her up and take her away or her mother being afraid of her. Was their a way? Could she really be non magic and go live with the Muggles?

Her mother had given her magic, and her father too. Magic was passed down, so they had made her be magic. All Ariana had to do was give it back then. Yes, that was the perfect plan. Ariana could give her magic to her mother and when her father came home her mother would give her father back his half. It was simple, so perfect, how could she not have figured it out before? She was sure her mother would love to have some extra magic anyway, everyone seemed to love magic and want more of it so why should her mother be any different.

Ariana waited in her small room for her mother to come up and give her her dinner so she could tell her about her wonderful plan, but as the minutes ticked by she realized she didn't want to wait that long. No, she would just go to her mother now, despite the fact she might get in trouble for leaving her room. Oh well, she won't be in trouble for long, for without her magic she didn't think her mother would care what she did anymore. She would just be a normal person.

Ariana tried the doorknob of her room, but it wouldn't turn. Of course, she forgot she was locked in. She stood there for a moment, chewing her lip and deciding what to do. She knew she could unlock it by magic, but she didn't really want to. That would almost defeat the purpose. But still... If it got her out... Ariana took a deep breath and concentrated all of her thoughts on the doorknob unlocking, but even so it wasn't until the third try she was able to make it open. She had gotten quite good at wand less magic as she had never been allowed a wand.

Ariana snuck down the staircase to the main floor of the Dumbledore house so she wouldn't be caught halfway by one of her brothers and sent back. She peered around the doorway at the end of the staircase into the kitchen and saw her mother hard at work, scrubbing grime off of the stove. Her heart leapt with joy; finally, she would be able to live a perfect life.

"Mother?" Kendra Dumbledore froze at the sound of the voice, still small and childish despite her age. She didn't turn around but pretended to be unaffected, that fear wasn't invading every chamber of her heart.

"Ariana, you know you aren't to leave your room." she said sternly.

"But Mother," Ariana insisted. "I've just had the most wonderful idea." Kendra sighed and turned to face the girl.

"Alright, tell me, but make it quick." she said. Ariana beamed.

"Well Mother, I've decided not to be a witch anymore." Ariana said, straightening up and taking a few steps into the kitchen now that she knew she wasn't going to be sent away, not aware that Kendra's nerves ran higher with every step.

"You... You what?" Kendra blinked, not sure if she had heard right.

"I'm not going to be a witch anymore." Ariana repeated. "So you can take your magic back." Kendra gaped at her daughter for a moment, wondering if she truly believed that it worked that way, that she could simply take her magic away. Staring into her eyes she realized that yes, she did think that. And why shouldn't she? She had never been given a proper magical education because of her... unfortunate childhood incident, and could know no better. She decided to humor the girl for a moment, in vain hope she would realize her own foolishness.

"Ariana, why on earth would you ever want to do that?" she asked gently.

"Because I don't like being a witch. Magic is bad. It makes me angry and hurt, and you get hurt too. I don't want to hurt anyone, so I'm going to get rid of magic and be a Muggle." Ariana explained. It was such a childish answer, one that was almost difficult to take seriously from her when she was almost 16 years old, but Kendra found herself hanging onto every word the girl spoke to her. She really didn't do anything on purpose, she couldn't control it, and the loss of control made her want to give up magic all together. The fact that she could do nothing to help her almost broke her heart. Kendra blinked a few times to hold back tears.

"Ariana... Dear, it doesn't work like that." she said, approaching her daughter and smoothing back her hair. All her fear had seemed to melt away. Ariana's brow wrinkled.

"What do you mean? Only witches can give birth to witches, right? So doesn't that mean I got my magic from you?"

"Yes, you inherited magic from me, dear, and your father too."

"So why can't you take back the magic you gave me? I don't need it anymore." Ariana didn't understand. Why wouldn't her mother help her? Didn't she want to see her happy?

"Because, Ariana, I didn't literally give you magic. You were born with magic all of your own."

"But... Y-you said..." Ariana stared up at Kendra, unable to process what was being said. Why was she giving her such conflicting information? She told her that she had given her magic and then turned around and said she hadn't! What was she supposed to think? Tears of frustration gathered at the corners of her eyes. "Why won't you help me?" Ariana yelled. Kendra took a step back; she had too much experience not to know where this was going.

"Dear, if I could-" she began, but she wasn't allowed to finish.

"But you can! I know you can, and you won't!" Tiny blue sparks fizzled at her fingertips, alarming Kendra. Ariana's temper could flare out of control, but almost never this quickly. She must have really had her heart set on this, she thought to herself. And I have to let her down.

"I can't. There's nothing I can do." she insisted. Ariana yelled again, not making words but simply screaming.

"Stop that, stop it right now!" Kendra said sternly, trying to make herself heard over the noise. Blue sparks crackled around Ariana's hands and a few came from her face. Kendra backed slowly to the counter, intending to get her wand and stop Ariana before her fit could cause her to hurt herself or someone else. She grabbed it and whipped it around, Stupefying the girl. Ariana froze, no longer able to move, but the blue sparks crackled around her still. Kendra frowned and raised her wand, thinking if she had any options now. She didn't dare use another spell against her, not wanting to injure her, and she couldn't rationalize with her. It seemed the only thing to do now was wait. She approached Ariana's side and saw that tears were now streaming freely down her face and it nearly broke her heart. She wanted her daughter to be happy, especially with the kind of past she had. It was horrible and tragic, the fate those boys had bestowed on her. She reached to out to wipe the tears from her cheeks, but Ariana's magic didn't let her touch the girl and flung her backwards into the wall. Disoriented, she stood up and held her head in her hands to stop the room spinning around her. After a minute or so, she noticed that the air was no longer alight with electricity - Ariana had calmed down. Blinking a few more times to assure she was steady, she released the girl from the spell, who immediately ran to her side and buried her face in her neck.

"I'm sorry, Mother." she sobbed. "Sorry, sorry, sorry." Kendra held her and stroked her hair.

"It's okay dear." she said and paused. "How about we go back upstairs? We can read your favorite books and I'll make you some hot cocoa." Normally she wouldn't let Ariana within reach of a mug, what with them being breakable and could hurt someone, but she felt she deserved a treat after what had just happened. Ariana looked up, surprised.

"Really?"

"Really." her face lit up, a bright smile crossing it.

"Thank you, thank you! Yay, cocoa!" she cheered and ran to the stairwell. She paused and peered around the wall back at Kendra, who had taken down a mug and was busying herself rummaging through the cupboards. "And Mother?"

"Yes dear?"

"One day I'll be a Muggle. And then I won't have to cause you trouble anymore." Kendra paused, her hand halfway out to reach for the chocolate powder. A single tear slid down her face at the words.

"You're never any trouble. Your my daughter and I love you, always." Not true, she thought to herself. She does cause me a lot of trouble. But there's no reason she needs to know that.

Ariana smiled. She knew her mother was only saying that, she didn't actually mean it, but she didn't mind. One day, she would pay her back for everything she had done for her. She raced up the stairs and into her room to await Kendra.


End file.
